Carson States of the Silverton FFA Chapter was named the 2009 National FFA Champion in Extemporaneous Public Speaking during the 82nd National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Ind., Oct. 21–24.
He is the first FFA member from the state of Oregon to win this honor in the National FFA Career Development Event.
“The students competing in this event are exceptional at organizing their thoughts into a comprehensive and logical presentation, additionally building their confidence, poise and presentation skills,” said Melissa Brown, CDE program manager.
States, a 2009 graduate of Silverton High, was a four-year member of the school’s speech and debate team.
The National FFA Extemporaneous Public Speaking CDE is designed to recognize outstanding FFA members for their ability to prepare and present a factual speech on a specific agricultural issue in a well thought out and logical manner. Members select one topic from a choice of categories, have 30 minutes to prepare a four-to-six-minute speech, and respond to five minutes of questions following delivery.
This event, held is one of many educational activities at the national FFA convention in which FFA members practice the lessons learned in agricultural education classes.
States was announced as the 2009 National FFA Champion during the seventh session of the national FFA convention. The top four individuals received scholarships to further their education at a post-secondary institution of their choice.
The scholarships and the extemporaneous public speaking event were sponsored by the American Farm Bureau Federation of Washington, D.C. as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.
